Most Popular
-
1
Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
-
2
New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
-
3
Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
-
4
Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
-
5
Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
-
6
[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
-
7
[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
-
8
Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
-
9
NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
-
10
Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
-
Constitutional Court chief nominee resigns under pressure
The nominee for Constitutional Court chief resigned under pressure Wednesday following allegations of a string of ethical lapses, including tax evasion and property speculation.Lee Dong-heub said in a press release he is stepping down to allow for a "smooth running of state affairs." Lee's nomination, which is subject to parliamentary confirmation, has been in limbo for weeks over allegations he used hundreds of millions of won (hundreds of thousands of dollars) in official allowances for privat
Feb. 13, 2013
-
Park names 6 ministers
President-elect Park Geun-hye named six ministerial nominees, including former chief presidential secretary Yun Byung-se as foreign minister, in her second round of Cabinet appointments Wednesday.Park also tapped former deputy commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command Kim Byung-kwan to become her defense minister along with four others to join the new government, transition committee vice chairman Chin Young said at a press conference.They include: Seo Nam-soo, president of Uiduk
Feb. 13, 2013
-
[Newsmaker] Pope steps down after eight fraught years
Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world Monday with his announcement that he would step down from the Roman Catholic Church’s highest office by the end of the month.The church’s 100-plus cardinals, the princes of the Vatican, received the announcement first during a meeting with 85-year-old Benedict at the Vatican early Monday.He said he is stepping down because with his advanced age and diminishing strength, he felt he could not carry on the job.He will be the first pontiff to do so in over 600 yea
Feb. 12, 2013
-
Park to announce personnel choices
President-elect Park Geun-hye will make her second key-personnel announcement on Wednesday, the presidential transition committee said.“The announcement of the key-personnel selection for the Park Geun-hye administration will be made at 11 a.m. tomorrow. No more details can be revealed at present,” Park’s chief spokesman Yoon Chang-joong said at a press briefing on Tuesday.While the transition team spokesman declined to elaborate, it is widely expected that Park’s choice of personnel for the pre
Feb. 12, 2013
-
Obama to send national security adviser to Park’s inauguration
U.S. President Barack Obama will send his national security adviser, Thomas Donilon, to the Feb. 25 inauguration ceremony of South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye, a lawmaker said Tuesday.“President Obama decided to send his close aide, National Security Advisor Donilon, as a special envoy to the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Park Geun-hye, considering the importance of the Korea-U.S. alliance,” Rep. Lee Hahn-koo, the floor leader of the South’s ruling Saenuri Party, told reporte
Feb. 12, 2013
-
S. Koreans remain calm over nuke test
Most South Koreans kept calm as news of North Korea’s nuclear test spread throughout the country during the lunch hour on Tuesday. TV broadcasters started to report at 12:13 p.m. that an artificial earthquake took place in North Korea at 11:58 a.m. Other media outlets began relaying urgent messages via online and mobile channels about how the government or other allies were responding to the situation. People with worry-stricken faces gathered around TVs in public areas to follow the reports. Bu
Feb. 12, 2013
-
Select 118 to choose next pope
The College of Cardinals is to select the next pope at the end of March following the surprise resignation of Benedict XVI on Monday.As the vote is restricted to cardinals under 80 years of age, 118 are eligible to choose the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The process, called a conclave, is carried out in secret in the Vatican City. This time, cardinals from 24 countries will write the name of their preferred candidate on a piece of paper until a two-thirds-plus-one majority is reache
Feb. 12, 2013
-
Park’s PR blunders could hold back policy efforts
“Again, as previously stated ...” is an oft-heard phrase at President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition committee’s press room in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.More often than not, her spokespersons and aides repeat their earlier statements when requested to expand on the committee’s new decisions whose explanations had been rendered insufficient.Park’s team has been criticized for that kind of “conclusive” ― rather than “explicative” ― style of communication even weeks before her new government takes th
Feb. 11, 2013
-
Rival parties prepare for hearing on P.M. nominee
Rival parties braced for the confirmation hearing of prime minister-designate Chung Hong-won over the former prosecutor’s qualifications and administrative abilities. President-elect Park Geun-hye on Friday nominated the lawyer to the top post of her Cabinet that will be launched on Feb. 25. The nomination came 10 days after Park’s first choice, transition team committee chief Kim Yong-joon, withdraw from his nomination upon allegations of ethical lapses. Park is expected to make follow-up appoi
Feb. 11, 2013
-
[Newsmaker] P.M. nominee vetting 2-edged sword for DUP
Former prosecutor Chung Hong-won is center stage in the country’s political arena as interest mounts as to whether President-elect Park Geun-hye’s second prime ministerial nominee will bear up under scrutiny. Kim is a life-long law professional who began his career in 1972. Chung went on to rise to the highest level within the public prosecutors’ office, and in 2004 opened a law firm.In the same year he was appointed a National Election Commission committee member, and from 2008 and 2011 he serv
Feb. 11, 2013
-
Ex-defense minister to head National Security Office
Kim Jang-soo, named to be incoming leader Park Geun-hye’s top presidential security adviser, became known as the “high-headed” general after he did not bow his head to late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in October 2007. The then defense minister was accompanying former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun for a second inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang Unlike other South Korean ministers, including the intelligence chief, he maintained an upright position while shaking hands with the strongman. As top
Feb. 11, 2013
-
Ex-general to head presidential security
When incoming leader Park Geun-hye announced her plan last month to elevate the chief of Presidential Security Service one notch in the bureaucratic hierarchy, pundits worried about an excessive preoccupation with security possibly stemming from the traumatic memories of her assassinated parents.Her appointment of Park Heung-ryul, a former Army chief of staff, to the office Friday further fanned the concern. Some military retirees argue it is inappropriate for a former leader of some 500,000 tr
Feb. 11, 2013
-
N.K. urged to halt nuke threats
President-elect Park Geun-hye and the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties strongly urged North Korea to immediately halt its nuclear test plan in their first emergency trilateral meeting on Thursday.Park, Saenuri Party chairman Hwang Woo-yea and Democratic United Party interim leader Moon Hee-sang affirmed in a statement North Korea’s nuclear armament would not be tolerated and that any attempt would be met with strong measures from the members of the six-party talks, the U.N. and the i
Feb. 7, 2013
-
Park to announce first batch of key officials
The presidential transition committee will make the long-delayed announcement of the first batch of nominees for key government posts on Friday morning, 10 days after transition committee chief Kim Yong-joon withdrew himself from the prime ministerial nomination amid allegations of ethical problems.“The first announcement will be made at 10 a.m. tomorrow, and the second announcement will be made after the Seollal holidays once the vetting process is over,” President-elect Park Geun-hye’s chief s
Feb. 7, 2013
-
Park, DUP to discuss N.K. nukes
President-elect Park Geun-hye and leaders of political parties will hold an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss the impending nuclear test by North Korea.The meeting proposed by Park will be the first trilateral gathering including the main opposition Democratic United Party on policy issues since her election in December. “President-elect Park proposes an emergency meeting with the ruling and opposition parties to discuss the North’s nuclear problem and the security situation on the Korean pe
Feb. 6, 2013
-
Park shuns snappy title for government
It has been a tradition of Korea’s young democracy for the president to adopt an official name for his government symbollizing its governing philosophy.The practice was derided five years ago by President Lee Myung-bak as a reflection of immaturity. He took pride in boldly calling his administration the “Lee Myung-bak Government.” The current transitional team decided to follow suit announcing Wednesday that the next government would be named the “Park Geun-hye Government.” “We have reviewed suc
Feb. 6, 2013
-
Dispute grows over Park’s government reform plan
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s plan to reorganize the government structure faces intensifying resistance from state agencies as politicians, even from her own party, criticize her dogmatic style. The ambitious measures sparked protests across ministries and offices handling foreign policy and trade, education and science, broadcasting and communication, and nuclear energy. They voiced concerns that administrative efficiency, industrial competitiveness and regulatory independence would hurt. But
Feb. 6, 2013
-
Lee to have private office after retirement
President Lee Myung-bak will likely carry his green growth initiative as he heads into retirement, while keeping a relatively low-profile, reports said Wednesday.“The president has laid down the rule that he will work quietly after stepping down, but he will not waste the experiences gained as head of state by becoming secluded,” an unnamed Cheong Wa Dae official was quoted as saying in the local media. For the field he will work in, the outgoing president is said to have narrowed down the possi
Feb. 6, 2013
-
DUP accuses Seoul police chief
The Democratic United Party on Wednesday filed a complaint against Seoul police chief Kim Yong-pan over alleged irregularities in the investigation into possible election interference by the National Intelligence Service.The complaint, submitted to Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, alleges that the Seoul police commissioner abused his authority and violated the Police Officers Act to influence the police investigation into the case. The main opposition party claims that Kim ordered Sus
Feb. 6, 2013
-
Parliamentary panel OKs real-estate tax cut extension
The ruling and opposition parties agreed Wednesday to extend the real estate acquisition tax reduction by six months to prevent the property market from slowing down further. The National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee approved the bill readjusted from the ruling party’s original proposal which called for a one-year extension. “The parties agreed to extend the acquisition tax reduction period by six months as a short-term measure to stimulate the real estate market,” sai
Feb. 6, 2013